After shipping top prospect Jefferson Rojas to the Mets for veteran reinforcements, Chicago faces the prospect of watching their former rising star skyrocket through the New York system.
The Chicago Cubs were extremely aggressive at this year’s trade deadline.
They were willing to part with several top prospects to give them the best chance to win this season. That led to the Cubs landing Kevin Gausman, Ryan Zeferjahn, Braxton Garrett, Clay Holmes, and Tyrone Taylor at the August 3rd deadline.
Acquiring all those veterans at the deadline meant that the front office had to part ways with several young players. Brett Bateman went to Toronto in the Gausman deal. Moises Ballesteros went to Los Angeles in the Zeferjahn trade. Jonathon Long and Jace Beck went to Miami in the Garrett trade.
But the biggest loss for the Cubs at the deadline was easily infield prospect Jefferson Rojas. Rojas was Chicago’s No. 2 prospect in the organization before being traded to the New York Mets in a blockbuster deal.
Anytime a team gives up a top prospect like that, it’s going to hurt. Rojas is a top-100 prospect in baseball on most sites and was a rising prospect when the Cubs dealt him away to acquire two veterans.
Now, Holmes and Taylor were exactly what the Cubs needed to acquire at the deadline. The North Siders desperately needed a top-of-the-line starting pitcher and a right-handed bat off the bench who can crush left-handed pitching.
Both Holmes and Taylor have done their jobs well since arriving in Chicago last month. Holmes has a 3.46 ERA across seven starts, while Taylor has a .367/.403/.517 with one home run, six doubles, nine RBI, and three stolen bases in his first 25 games.
However, it doesn’t take away from the fact that Rojas has the makings to be a really good big leaguer one day. The Mets are definitely seeing that firsthand, as the 21-year-old has hit the ball well since being traded to New York.
Rojas slashed .280/.336/.593 with nine home runs, eight doubles, one triple, 29 RBI, and three stolen bases in his first 29 games at Double-A Birmingham. He is now up to 24 home runs and 86 RBI on the season.
His strong numbers with Birmingham have led the Mets to promote him to Triple-A before the end of the season. Rojas will now head to Triple-A Syracuse and is knocking on the door of an MLB promotion next season.
The Cubs will have to watch Rojas’ game from afar after trading him away at the deadline. Although Holmes and Taylor give Chicago the best chance to win this season, letting go of Rojas could really sting in a couple of years.
